‘£90m offer’ - Arsenal rivals make Declan Rice bid in potential transfer blow

Manchester City have made a ‘formal offer’ for West Ham star Declan Rice worth up to £90m in a potential transfer blow to Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola’s side are in the market for a new centre midfielder after Ilkay Gundogan’s departure on a free transfer to Barcelona was confirmed on Monday.

David Ornstein of The Athletic reports City’s bid for Rice is worth £80m with a potential £10m in add-ons. Arsenal have saw two bids rejected for the Hammers midfielder, with the second worth £90m.

The structure of their second bid proposed a £75m base fee with £15m in add-ons. West Ham want £100m for Rice, and appear firm on that stance having knocked two bids back from the Gunners. Arsenal are reported to be preparing a third bid for Rice closer to the Hammers’ valuation with Ornstein reporting the Gunners’ pursuit of the player is ongoing.

Rice is set to leave West Ham this summer, club chairman David Sullivan confirmed earlier this month. Rice lifted the Europa Conference League with the Hammers on June 7 and Sullivan revealed a day later the midfielder was promised he could seek a move this summer.

The player turned down a new contract worth £200,000 per week 18 months ago and Sullivan added three to four clubs were interested in a transfer during this window.

“We promised him he could go,” Sullivan told talkSPORT. “He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.

“It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.”

Rice has played 245 times for the club, scoring 15 goals and providing 13 assists. At the age of just 24, he has been capped 43 times by England while scoring three times for his country.